Hidden Valley Elementary School

OMG. Where to start?! First I don’t even know what is the point of this review. Looks like we do not have a free choice to pick a school or an educational program… But still, if somehow there is a choice, this school should not be in the list. I would give it minus 5 starts if I could. I have been exposed to other schools in MDUSD and this one is by far the worst. The personnel is incompetent and disrespectful. They are trying hard to make me, the parent, feel like I am the student. We have problems of any kinds: False reports that my child is missing from school; teachers are ignoring our concerns about health and food related problems and any others; cars speeding, risking to run us over on the crosswalk in front of the school: the staff does not know how to handle simple situations. And this list can go on and on.

I was recently at Hidden Valley Elementary School as a volunteer Science Fair Judge. Actually, the semi-​finalists had already been pre-​selected, and our job was to choose who was going on the District competition. That was both fun and educational, with the experiment testing whether dogs were left or right pawed being my personal favorite.
We were also tasked with making sure that each of the many entrants were provided with a documented evaluation that was written in an encouraging and positive manner. That was only hard in just a few cases. The other thing we had to look out for were projects where is was more parent than kid doing the work. One big equalizer for that was the required storyboard format that eliminated the need for multimedia presentations.
My experience at Hidden Valley Elementary School was also pleasant and most welcoming. They fed us Lunch, explained our role well, and were genuinely appreciative of our efforts. I was more than happy to help out, and it made me a bit nostalgic when my Kids were that age and I was one of these parents.

Great school! Nice students & families.
Great teachers! (Or perhaps we keep getting lucky?)
Some strange rules (like, no running, even during recess) which is so PC it’s ridiculous, but a lot of other very positive rules /​programs (like, Peace Makers); teaching them young to utilize conflict resolution skills.
Lunch was often severly lacking, but that’s why it’s an option that we are free to decline in favor of packing a lunch.
Parking is absolutely craaaazy! Tons of «no parking» signs along the side streets, but the parking lot is exclusively for staff with the exception of like 4 spaces around the curve where you exit. Martinez police officers routinely park nearby just waiting for a desperate parent to park & run up to the gate to retrieve their child!
Decent educational ratings.

Though we’ve only finished up our first year here (son just completed K)… we had nothing but a positive experience. He did well in class, I liked the teacher and found her to be just the right amount of tough on the kids (face it– 1^st grade is going to be a lot harder than Kinder!) but also remembering that these are 5 and 6 year olds… and sometimes need a little bit of ‘love’. The school had lots of activities, lots of extra-​curricular activities, great parent involvement… overall just a good experience. I applaud the teachers for having to deal with overcrowded classrooms (thanks MDUSD and the budget cuts!) … we cant wait for 1^st grade!

Saw my niece in her first school play here. What a great production.

From Cinzia:
The school is great. Pre-​K is easy. There’s a garden.
From Reno:
i like school.